MK Basel Ghattas Accepts Plea Deal
March 16, 2017 Basel Ghattas, an Arab member of the Knesset for the Joint List, signs a plea deal to resolve charges that he used his position as a Knesset member to smuggle cellphones and…
Shinui Party Leaves Sharon Government
Led by Israeli television personality Tommy Lapid, Shinui (change), wins fifteen seats in the 2003 Israeli election.
Rabbi Zerach Warhaftig Dies
Rabbi Zerach Warhaftig, a founder of Israel’s National Religious Party and signatory of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, passes away in Jerusalem at the age of 96.
Shamir Fires Weizman Over PLO Contact
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir dismisses Science Minister Ezer Weizman as a consequence of his contact with the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization).
Meir Kahane Assassinated
November 5, 1990 Israeli politician Rabbi Meir Kahane, 58, is fatally shot by Egyptian-American El Sayyid Nosair in a Manhattan hotel where Kahane is addressing a crowd of mostly Orthodox Jews. Kahane was elected to…
Intellectual Dov Sadan Dies
Israeli intellectual and former Knesset member Dov Sadan dies at the age of 87.
Knesset Votes in Favor of Golan Heights Law
In a quickly organized and somewhat surprising move, the Knesset votes to annex the Golan Heights by a vote of 63-21.
Moshe Dayan Dies at 66
Moshe Dayan, Israel’s iconic military and political leader, passes away from a heart attack in a Tel Aviv hospital at the age of 66.
Arab Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi Is Born
May 23, 1969 Pioneering Knesset member Hanin Zoabi is born into a Muslim family in Nazareth. Zoabi earns a bachelor’s in philosophy and psychology from the University of Haifa and a master’s from the Hebrew…
Politician Nir Barkat Born
Nir Barkat is born in Jerusalem. He serves as the city’s mayor from 2008 to 2018, then joins the Likud party to run for the Knesset.
General and Politician Benny Gantz Is Born
June 9, 1959 Benjamin “Benny” Gantz, who rises to chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and a top candidate for prime minister, is born in Kfar Ahim. His father is a native of…
Dalia Itzik Is Born
Dalia Itzik is born in Jerusalem to a family of Iraqi immigrants. In the Seventeenth Knesset (2006), she becomes the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Knesset.
Israel Accepts German Reparations
January 9, 1952 The Knesset ends three days of debate by voting 61-50 to accept more than $800 million in Holocaust reparations from the Western German government over 14 years. The decision sparks protests and…
Knesset Declares Jerusalem Capital of Israel
By a vote of 60-2, with members of Mapam and Herut abstaining, the Knesset adopts a proclamation declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel.
Shin Bet Head Ami Ayalon Is Born
June 27, 1945 Ami Ayalon, who leads the Shin Bet and the Israeli navy, is born in Tiberias. He serves in the navy from 1963 to 1996. He volunteers for the Shayetet 13 commando unit,…
Politician Zevulun Hammer Is Born
May 31, 1936 National Religious Party politician Zevulun Hammer is born in Haifa. Hammer participates in the Zionist youth group Bnei Akiva and serves in the Israel Defense Forces’ Armored Corps with the Nahal program,…
Meretz Founder Shulamit Aloni Is Born
November 29, 1928 Shulamit Aloni, the lawyer and politician who founds the Meretz party, is born in Tel Aviv. From a young age, Aloni is involved with politics and is relentless in working to bring…
Israeli Spymaster Rafi Eitan Is Born
November 23, 1926 Rafi Eitan, whose intelligence career ranges from the high of capturing Adolf Eichmann in Argentina to the low of handling U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard as a spy, is born on a…
Tehiya Founder Geulah Cohen Is Born
December 25, 1925 Politician and activist Geulah Cohen, the founder of the Tehiya party, is born in Tel Aviv. Cohen becomes involved with political movements in Mandatory Palestine when she is young, and she joins…
Politician Ya’akov Hazan Is Born
June 4, 1899 Ya’akov Hazan, a leader in socialist politics through Israel’s first four decades, is born in Brest Litovsk, Russia. He is a founder of the Hashomer Hatzair scouting movement in Poland in 1915…
Avraham (Granot) Granovsky Is Born
Avraham (Granot) Granovsky, a signatory of the Israeli Declaration of Independence and Director-General of the Jewish National Fund, is born in Moldova.
Future Knesset Speaker Sprinzak Is Born
Yosef Sprinzak, who would serve as the first Speaker of the Knesset and twice as Interim President, is born in Moscow.
